Costa Rica has long been a mature market for the RIU hotel chain, which opened its first property there in 2009 and a second in 2012. Since then, the Pacific coast complex in Playa Matapalo, Guanacaste, has been at the center of a heated public debate. Ecologists argue that the project caused environmental damage, triggering a lengthy legal battle that has seen a fresh round of judicial review and a postponement of environmental crimes proceedings to early 2023.
The dispute intensified after the project began in 2008, with Confraternidad Guanacaste, an environmental organization, asserting that the complex did not comply with local laws. They allege that the development diverted a stream, removed trees from a public beach area, and filled in a mangrove swamp, a critical coastal ecosystem rich in biodiversity. The case also contemplates penalties for environmental damage that could reach substantial sums.
RIU representatives told local press that they would attend the upcoming hearing and that the dispute should not be surprising given the history of the project. They maintain that the company has always operated within the boundaries of the law.
Layout without “error”
Costa Rican sociologist Arturo Silva Lucas, affiliated with Alba Sud, notes that in 2009 the case against RIU began as a criminal matter and now proceeds through environmental courts. The potential outcomes range from sanctions and possible prison time to financial penalties, and possibly the partial or total revocation of environmental permits.
Faced with criminal proceedings, RIU opted for mediation, which the company says does not amount to an admission of guilt. Ecologists, however, view the agreement as a potential acknowledgment of environmental harm and suspect hidden compensation. RIU argues that its actions aim to protect fauna movement and to contribute to community benefits.
The company maintains that Costa Rican environmental authorities have issued reports, later confirmed by the judiciary, indicating that there was no forested land on the site and that the area had been used for agriculture since 1971. The work performed, RIU argues, complies with local regulations and standards.
these reports
Since 2009, ecologists and local residents have claimed that the hotel construction altered the flow of the stream and degraded a mangrove swamp, reducing biodiversity and affecting coastal ecosystems. They also condemn the use of the first coastline and deforestation in the region. Alba Sud researchers suggest that the environmental impact studies may have been incomplete and question the integrity of permit processes.
NGO Confraternidad Guanacaste filed an Amparo appeal in June with the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice after the hearings faced delays and no decisive ruling on the alleged adverse environmental impact. Playa Matapalo residents and activists have pressed for a timely resolution, arguing that years have passed without substantial action.
The Constitutional Chamber later accepted ecologists’ objections and scheduled a decisive hearing for February. The NGO holds that the outcome could include demolition of at least one hotel built over the valley canal and related infrastructure.
Controversy has shadowed the RIU complex from the outset. A worker reportedly died in 2008, and subsequent reports highlighted concerns about living conditions for staff and the project’s restart after a long pause.
Next extension Follow the commitment to the goal
RIU is expected to announce in January potential expansions for its Guanacaste properties on the Pacific coast. The destination currently hosts two RIU hotels: a luxury property with several hundred rooms near a protected natural area and a second, larger resort that opened earlier. Both hotels sit adjacent to a major protected area managed for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of the land.